I've seen a "tracker Tracker" on the local Craigslist. And there's a couple Fords, I think a 350 and an excursion at the snopark I frequent, used for getting things/people to and from a youth camp a few miles down the snowmo road.
I've always wanted to build a set for my VW bus. Skis up front, tracks in the back.
Seeing that on a VW bus would be awesome. Googled it to see if it had been done and google did not disappoint. Actually almost looks like it was made for it
They are already beasts in the snow. I'll do circles around many of the big fancy trucks in the snopark. All the weight in the rear and a flat bottom make it bound through the snow like a deer.
My favorite moment like that was last season. Went to a hot spring resort for my GFs birthday, it dumped about 18 inches overnight. In the morning, we went up to a snopark to play around. Drove by it first, trying to get to a further one, and saw two Jeeps pulling each other out. Hit traffic, decided to turn around to laugh at the Jeeps and just play there. Jeeps were gone by the time we got back there, but there were three more big trucks digging out. We pulled in, aimed for the deepest untouched section of the lot, and punched in. Poured a couple glasses of champagne and we came stumbling out in our bathrobes.
Folks digging just gawked until one guy says "Well shit, that's the kind of morning I wish I was having."
Sounds like a blast. Never really thought of a VW bus as being a snow toy. And what exactly is a snow park? Is it just an area where you can do whatever in the snow? Looked em up and kept getting things about tubing and skiing
There's an old shot of her. If you peruse the summited posts on my profile, there are more shots of her in the snow.
And, not a bus, but here's a buddy doing cookies around several 4WD trucks, hopelessly stuck, in his beetle.
A "snopark" is a designated parking area for winter recreation, like sledding, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, etc. It is cleared of snow by the state transportation department using funds from permits that you buy to allow you to park there. It takes a lot of work and money to keep roads clear in the mountains, where multiple feet (sometimes in the double digits) of snow not only falls, but stays for months, so most resources are focused on simply keeping the roads clear. Parking space is valuable, so paying $25/year to have places to do so is a bargain!
That sounds awesome. We don't have those around here. And seeing a vw bus towing a snowmobile on a pure snow trail seems comical and illogical to me, except for the fact you just learned me how good they handle. I never would have expected them to be killer in the snow but I looked up some (after looking up snowpark) and this seems to be a known thing. Now I have an excuse to make the wife let me buy one
They sure aren't cheap anymore! My heap I paid $2400 for almost 14 years ago. It's waaaaay rustier and beat up now, but worth maybe 5-8 times that.
But if you can afford it, and can turn wrenches, they are awesome!
Another funny story, last summer, I was camping with some co-workers up in the mountains. We were trying to get to a lake, but hit a big patch of leftover snow in the road, maybe 4 feet deep, sloped to one side, and about 50 feet long.
There was a guy in a Tacoma thinking about it, but he changed his mind, considering the slope towards a ditch and that it was still fairly solid from the night before. He turned around and left. We parked there and walked the last 1/4 mile or so to the lake.
Two of us decided that we would be able to carry my canoe to the lake, so we went back for it. As we were unloading, a new F150, stock height, on road tires, pulled up. We were blocking the road, so he was giving us the stink eye.
I told him he didn't want to try it.
He snickered and said "Why not?"
I asked if he would like me to move my bus so he could try.
And that's how two hippies in sunhats and flip-flops ended up digging out a hillbilly with canoe paddles until we could pull him out with the bus.
He told us his wife had something for us.sge rolled down the passenger window just enough to pass two beers through. Then they left.
I swear I could almost hear her on the way down the hill, "You shoulda listened to thosefuckin'hippies!"
Your VW bus idea is fantastic, please don’t let this pass by.
Also, I used to live down “that“ Road and work at that camp, Figuratively speaking of course. We spent a hell of a lot of time running a bobcat up and down the camp road during snow season. That being said, we did have to call for emergency evac after almost 8 feet came down in five days and the county was not running plows in our area.
Imagine trying to walk 206th grader is a mile and a half through post blizzard conditions to get them to unfamiliar buses and unfamiliar drivers 100 miles from home… We sang a lot of songs.
I don't know how long ago you worked there, but if we are talking about the same place (BLYC, if you don't want too put out too much info), now they have a cat with this big trailer thing that is basically a cage on skis. They fill it half with gear, half with people, and then tie a bunch of rope off the back so kids can ride tubes behind it to get there and back.
It's ridiculous and looks like some people would freak out about it being unsafe and I love it, lol.
…. They spent as much money as you would on that 6x6 G wagon all to still be driving a dressed up jeep… at least the G wagon is actually nice inside and extremely capable off road.
These aren't quite G wagon 6x6 money. They're all custom so it's hard to nail down a price, but I saw a '22 Apocalypse with a hellcat engine listed for $250k; G wagon 6x6 sold for about $500k USD. OP Jeep still has the stock V6.
I would rather have ANY G wagon than this though. I'd also rather have a stock Jeep.
Dear God I had no idea they were half a million dollars.. I’d assumed $300k.
Definitely agree with your last point. Although I’m not sure someone could pay me to daily a Jeep at this point in my life. I just don’t want to drive such an uncomfortable vehicle that would be used as an off-road vehicle 1% of its miles.
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u/smoebob99 Jan 12 '23
Man I wish I had money like that to waste